freeranger

I mean, literally, if you're thinking of buying your child a bike, pick it up and feel how heavy (or light) it may be. My wife and I were out shopping in one of the big box stores. We were walking past the bikes and noticed the frame tubes looked kind of large. Now, our own bikes aren't anything special, but are decent, name branded bikes from bike shops. Out of curiosity, we picked up a kid's bike to judge how much it might weigh. What a surprise! The kid's bikes felt significantly heavier than our adult mountain bikes, which aren't light! So, if you're thinking of a bike for the kiddo, pick it up to see how much it weighs. Could you imagine riding a bike that was just a little less than your body weight! Now we know kids grow like weeds, so they'll outgrow it, but maybe check out a bike store for a used (or new) bike which will be better made, and much lighter. Could also shop some of the online bike shops-will be better than what is sold in big box stores. Just one example: Hot New Bikes For Kids and Small Riders Save Up to 63% Off +FREE SHIP 48 (bikesdirect.com)

Trav1s

That was a big lesson for me. Local store was going out of business and I picked up a cute Hello Kitty bike for my daughter. She did OK on it untll... While on vacation, she used a Trek Precaliber and fell in love. Upon returning home the Hello Kitty bike was quickly left in the corner of the garage. Se we made a suprise trip to the local Trek store and the twin to the borrowed Precaliber was sitting on the floor. She hopped on and the smile on her face returned. She rode the purple Trek home and continued to ride it until it was too small. Buying that Precaliber was some of the best money spent in my life. I'd guess the Precaliber weighted half of the weight of the HK bike and was so much easier to pedal/control.

Trav1s

The very points I mentioned have played out with two bikes for my daughter. I again underestimated weight for my daughter when purchasing a 20" Specialized Hotrock but did not realize it until I purchased a new bike for her. You can see more details here: https://www.bikeforums.net/recreatio...24-sherpa.html

Darth Lefty 

I bought a Cleary scout, a diamondback, Sync’r, and a spawn yama jama.







Out of these the spawn is the serious bike, fast and light. She’s going to be a terror and deserves it.

The diamondback is the best consumer product. Best finish, packaging, easiest to assemble. But it’s a monster truck buildout. 5 lb of drivetrain, 5 lb of rubber, 6 lb fork, jeez. I need to put a smaller crank, bars, and maybe tires for this kid. The fork is something else. 6 lb, 110 TA coil spring and chrome stanchion. It’s basically a 26er fork though it’s listed as 24er. Sort of wish I’d bought the Giant instead

I’m really not sure about the Cleary yet. It seemed better before I really tore into it and now I need to find out if it’s going to work right. The spec is there. But although it’s for my oldest kid he’s the most timid rider. I’m not sure if he’ll really challenge it. It’s smaller by a slosh than the DB and a much lighter build. But it’s maxed out on tires with 2.2’s while the DB is nearly ready to become a fat bike

Trav1s

I liked the idea of the Cleary internal hub and hydraulic disc brakes but was hesitant to deal with shipping.